Healthcare
Revolutionising Patient Care
Revolutionising Patient Care
Develop Consulting were asked by NHS England to help in a nationwide programme aligning care homes with GP practices to improve medical care for residents.
Develop Consulting were asked by NHS England to help in a nationwide programme aligning care homes with GP practices to improve medical care for residents.
Our team recognised that the Primary Care Network (PCN) area had nine different GP practices which were visiting each care home, resulting in unproductive admin, reduced communication and wasted time.
Results
- 80% of residents aligned with their correct GP practice
- Safety improved at sites thanks to a consistent clinical team
- Two hours of care home admin and five hours of GP time saved each month
- Improved communication between GP’s and care homes for earlier identification and resolution of patient concerns
- Introduction of training to empower care home residents and have better patient diagnosis
- An increase in ward visits to provide preventative care for residents
Observations
- Time was wasted in care homes and GP practices as a result of the process
- There was unproductive admin and reduced communication between the two, slowing patient care
Objectives
- Steps were needed to reassure care home workers who were intimidated at first by the perceived increase in workload
- To allow GPs to see that there should be a change in patients from the outset
Actions
- Assessing residents and GP practices to create a matrix and redistribute services
- Training care home supervisors and team leaders in the ‘SBAR’ (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) structure
- Help care hopes manage family and social care communication for patient consent
- Create a structured paperwork system
- Train care assistants to use blood pressure and temperature machines
